2581 ANNAPOLIS St East Palo Alto, CA 94303

Last sale: Jun 16, 2009 Sold $573,732 (This is a bank take back)
Last REAL sale: Nov 10, 1999 Sold $270,000

I found the mortgage history of this home on PropertyShark, and it is quite interesting.  First the homedebtor bought the house in 1999 with two loans from Bank of America:

Notice that the two loans add up to the purchase price. So great, this guy is buying the home for 0 down, but at least it is a fixed loan. Now he lived in it for  a bit over 3 years before doing another refi.  This time it is a cash out refinance because the amount borrowed is $300k.  This time it is from Indymac:

Notice that now it is an adjustable loan. A year and a half later there was another cash out  refi in June 2004:

So basically he took another $30k out, but wait, it’s not over! Another 16 months later, he did another HUGE cash out refinance:

Yup, in this final refinance he took out another $242k.  Then finally the home was foreclosed this year.  So at least he enjoyed the house atm for almost 10 years and took out over $300k.  Here is the funny part, all the banks he dealt with are dead except for Bank of America.  I guess  it sort of makes sense, too.  I don’t think this guy lost much since the money he took out was tax free and he didn’t really have any equity in the house anyway.  The last bank definitely lost the most on this series of refinances, but I guess they have ” imploded”.

1040 Patricia SAN MATEO, CA 94401

Last sale: Jul 06, 2007 Sold $818,000

Loss if sold for asking: $319,000 or 39%

I actually know several families that live in this neighborhood.  It’s not the most ritzy part of San Mateo, but it’s not bad either.  It’s close to shopping and the general neighbors are good.  I know at least one family that  paid over $700k for a smaller house than this one here a couple years ago.  So is this a good deal?  It really depends.  A house like this would rent for $2000 to $2300 a month, though.

226 Crocker Ave Daly City, CA 94014

Price: $399,000

Last sale: Bank repo for $454,750
Peak sale: 5/24/2006 for $740,000
Loss if sold for asking: $341,000 from peak price

Remember this horror show of a house? Well, this one isn’t that bad, but the bank must have hired someone who just really couldn’t care less about selling this house to take the pictures.   It looks like it’s been squatted in.  Here are some piles of trash:

Finally the requisite scary backyard:

2614 READ Ave Belmont, CA 94002

Price: $899,000

Last sale: 7/24/2006 $1,233,000
Loss if sold for asking: $334,000 or 27%

This is actually a nice looking larger home in Belmont.  The owners that sold the home for 1.2 million definitely made out like bandits.  It seems that they bought the place in 1999 for $241k, and then refied and took out a loan worth $663.5k in 2003 and then sold the home to the latest seller in trouble in 2006.  It’s amazing that this home was only $241k in 1999, though.  Adjusted for inflation $241k should be only worth $309k now.  I highly doubt that the home would drop another 600k, but another $100 to $200k might be possible.

1825 MIDDLEFIELD Rd Redwood City, CA 94063

Price: $259,900

Last sale:
Sep 11, 2006 $630,000
4/18/2000 $297,500

Yup, this little rancher has rolled back to below its 2000 sale price. What a difference 9 years make. This is currently owned by U.S. Bank and it is definitely the cheapest single family home in Redwood City now based on price per square foot. It looks like it needs some fixing, and it is not in the best neighborhood, but at least it is priced to be affordable to median income families now.

205 Peoria St Daly City, CA 94014

Price: $280,000

Last sales:
Nov 18, 2008 Sold $410,000 -12.4%/yr Public Records
Oct 27, 2005 Sold $615,000 33.4%/yr Public Records
Jul 30, 2004 Sold $430,000 16.1%/yr Public Records
Dec 03, 2001 Sold $289,000 6.5%/yr Public Records

Here is another home that’s cheaper than 2001 and more than 50% off its peak.   It looks like quite a fixer, and it is still priced above the median price per square foot of Daly City.  This is probably not a surprise but it was also financed 100% by loans  in 2005.

Price: $494,700

Last sales: Jan 30, 2009 Sold $572,000 ( Foreclosure)
May 22, 2007 Sold $890,000

Loss if sold for asking:  $77300 from foreclosure price, nearly $400k from last sale price.

This home is in a decent neighborhood of San Mateo, but it is fairly nondescript and now has the “appliance-ripped-out” look of foreclosures.  It is currently owned by Aurora Lending Services LLC in Colorado.   It is down $400,000 from its 2007 sale price, but it is doubtful if it’s worth even $494k now.

Too bad you can’t take advantage of pricing mistakes on houses online.  I would totally buy it for $499.   Lets see how long it takes for the real estate agent to fix this.

Price: $229,900

Last sale:

Loss if sold for asking: $359100 or 61%

This little shack is currently owned by HSBC.  It is incredible that someone actually bought this for $589k a few years ago.  This is not exactly in a good neighborhood.

2268 ADDISON Ave East Palo Alto, CA 94303

Price: $183,750

Last sales:
Sep 19, 2008 Sold $579,457 -5.0%/yr Public Records
Oct 12, 2006 Sold $640,000 16.4%/yr Public Records

Loss if sold for asking: $395707 or 68.3%
This bank owned property is probably one of the cheapest single family homes on the Peninsula and it looks like it still has some appliances left. It’s about $460k off its peak price, and that’s pretty sad.